Star Trek Maximillian: Red Planet
by Chris C Stephenson
Summary: A very short story written for Star Trek Online. The Maximillian encounters a forgotten planet...


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The following story was written as part of a contest for Star Trek Online. The only information was to write a story about a picture and paragraph:

_Part of the adventure that comes from exploring strange new worlds is discovering that planet's history and hearing the stories of its inhabitants. Imagine you have just entered orbit around the planet pictured here. Your mind races with the possibilities of what you will find. What is the planet's name? What or who lives there? Are they peaceful or antagonistic, welcoming or outright hostile? Are they long gone leaving only more mysteries to solve?_

_Tell us about the planet shown here. You can tell a story of daily life of the inhabitants, make a scientific survey log entry, or weave any type of tale you choose._

The story is presented here in it's entirety, in under 500 words. It takes place during Critch Starblade's Captaincy, before the departure of Commander Jaydin and the beginning of Order of the Sword.

**RED PLANET**

by Chris Stephenson

The blue nebulae emitted an eerie glow on the Sovereign-class U.S.S. Maximillian as she settled into orbit far above the planet below. Though designated class-M by the Federation, nothing else was known about the orb. One thing was for sure though, at least as far as Captain Starblade was concerned.

It certainly was...Red.

"Anything?" He asked his comm officer hopefully. When he responded in the negative, Starblade reclined back in the captain's chair, frustrated.

"I know it's been quiet lately, but there's gotta be something better for us to do than go explore a lifeless planet." He exhaled, not really expecting a response.

"I agree." Kelvok, the "Mighty Max's" Vulcan wing commander, uncharacteristically spoke out of turn. "We are a Sovereign-class warship. We would be much better suited for..."

"Anything else!" Overload Soong-Maddox interrupted from her Operations station, her exuberance seeming quite strange coming from someone who was an android, even one with her particular set of emotions.

Starblade sighed, spinning in his chair. "Well, lets get this over with. Start the scans, I'll..."

"Captain!" Overload interrupted. "I'm picking up something!"

"What?" Captain Starblade stood, and walked over to her station. There he saw the same readings she did. He let a smile appear on his face, happy that there was a reason for their being here after all. "Who wants to be on the away team?"

Once the blue tinge had faded from their vision, the first thing the away team saw was a tall series of stones, each covered somewhat awkwardly with rune-like formations. As the after effects of teleportation had worn off, Captain Starblade nodded towards the stones and science officer T'purr Meowran went over to them.

"Scanning..." She paused as she looked at the results. "Some kind of residual energy, but I can't make out anything recognizable...I'm boosting the power..."

As soon as she said that, each of the team were overcome with emotion, even the Vulcans. They fell to their knees as a dark history seemed to play in fast forward before each of their eyes. The origin of a species, rising up and defeating all others to become the dominant life forms. Their petty disagreements, rising up and ruining any sort of friendship between the different clans. The battles, the wars, and eventually the endless deaths as weapons were released, destroying all that they came in contact with and tinting the sky an endless deep maroon.

As the story ended and the team regained their senses and rose to their feet, dark creatures crept out from around the stones, of which the rune patterns were glowing a bright blue. They were four legged, crawling low to the ground, snarling with razor-sharp teeth. Deep purple spikes rose from their backsides, and a pointed tail lashed around as they advanced on the team.

Sighing with a mixture of annoyance and fear, Starblade retrieved a phaser from his belt. He muttered under his breath as he pointed at the largest creature.

"Gonna be one of those days."


End file.
